


Girl meets vampire, what's next...

by CheshWondaland



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:53:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28416411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheshWondaland/pseuds/CheshWondaland
Summary: Eli has nowhere to go and as luck would have it she meets a heartbroken vampire in the dead of night.
Relationships: Spike/Original Character(s), Spike/Original Female Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. A vampire sits on a bench...

There on a bench in the park was a bleach blonde man. It was night and Eli was understandably upset that her favored bench was taken over. She came up behind the man. “Feel like scooching over some?” He barely glanced at her before making room which judging from his expression was no slight to her. 

His face was full of bruises and his skin was ashen in the light of the lamppost. “Been a rough night? I get that, had a rough one myself.” He finally looked at her for what seemed to be the first time. She watched in amusement as he appraised the marks on her skin and the not-so-secrets they exposed.

“Bloody hell, you look like hell warmed over.” So he was British, or at the least, he wasn’t American. Eli snorted and leaned back to look at the starless night. “Dad found my journal, Mom looked in it. I am officially disowned though I say good riddance.” 

“What was so bad that they slapped you about like that? I’ve seen a lot in my time but you…. How are you still standing?” She looked at him in her peripheral and he looked sort of concerned. Funny, since he looks like one of those people that genuinely hate others. Unlike her who generally hated people but never let them know it. As she said. Amusing.

“I don’t like people because of what they’ve got in their pants, in fact, I don’t care about it. That paired with the fact I’ve had three girlfriends and two boyfriends over the years, that they didn’t know about? They were furious. And as furious people are wont to do, they lashed out.” 

His hand lifted and hovered before it dropped to his leather-clad lap. “You can touch if you want. Nothing wrong with that.” His hand reached to trace the gash on her forehead that would surely scar. “Why are you out here?” His hand reeled back as if he was burned. “I-......” She clapped a hand on his shoulder, his jacket supple under her touch. “I won’t judge. Besides, come tomorrow I might be dead, think I’m bleeding internally somewhere.” He gave her a look that told her he did not appreciate her joke.

“I…. My girlfriend left me and it’s a bloody fucking mess and I tried to change for her but all I’ve done is hurt myself. And it doesn’t help that I... I- I’m not proud to admit I’ve done my share of terrible things and frankly I find myself ashamed now that my head is out of my arse. She acted like she was fine with who I was, had been until… until he wanted her back, then I meant nothing.” She rubbed circles in his back. 

Her touch faltered but returned in a flash. A bruised and battered teenage girl and a man broken by the atrocities he’s committed and the way he’s been treated, a motley pair to be sure. “That sucks. It’s understandable though, you’re only human. In the first place, people do things that are probably worse than anything you’ve ever done. But sounds to me that your ex is a large part of your problem, reminds me of the bitches at school.” He shrugged her off then. 

“Stop. She’s the best thing to happen to me since Dru.” His anger was palpable but half-assed, he barely believed his own words and it showed in the way he bit into his lip. She set her hand on his forearm in a placating gesture, it was like comforting to a child. “People don’t use people they care about and they sure as hell don’t discard them after they’re through. But you know that don’t you?”

“I could say the same for you.”

“My case is different, I belong to my parents, they have dominion over what I do, and when I do it. It doesn’t help that I’ve got a record so emancipation, nah.” 

They lapsed into silence. 

The man cleared his throat and Eli forgot about the hangnail she was tearing at. “Yes?”

“If you want, you could stay with me. I don’t have food or anything but I have a place to keep the rain off.” She couldn’t help it, she stood up and jumped on the ends of her shoes. She even pulled him up by the sleeve of his duster. “Wait. What’s your name?” 

His smile was blinding as his eyes crinkled around fervent blues. “You know it’s rude to ask for names before you give your own, right? Anyway, I’m William Freston, but you can call me Spike.” He held out a hand to shake. 

“Sorry for being rude, I’m Eli Gardener, your new homie.” He quirked a brow but she ignored it in favor of giving him a yank-y handshake. “I suppose I could use a.. homie.”


	2. Crypts and bones... for real

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spike takes Eli home. He may or may not view her as a puppy.

She didn’t know what she’d been expecting but a crypt filled with dust and bones was not it. Although it was reasonably tidied up, there were spots in the stone where seemingly blood had turned rust-colored. “Almost looks like you’re a vampire or something.” Spike stopped in his monologuing to studiously look anywhere except Eli. “Spiiiiiiiike? You’re acting like I hit the nail on the head.” He stiffened then only to be tackled by an overjoyed Eli. “Are you? Really? Really and truly? You’re a vampire?!” He let out a groan of pain upon making contact with the stone floor. 

“Yes, love, but we’re not like twilight, that’s for sure. Other vampires are, well they’re soulless blood guzzlers. So be careful.” Spike gave her narrowed eyes but that did nothing to dampen her excitement. 

“This is so awesome. I get to live with a vampire.. and he’s nice.” She muttered lowly and for some reason Spike was blushing. Vampires can blush, interesting. Although it might be due to the fact she was straddling him. She yelped and jumped off which hurt her leg mildly. “Sorry!” He said it was okay and left to dally in the corner near an almost pearly skeleton. 

There was a chaise lounge, settee, and bed. There was also a coffee table placed afront the settee and that bed was really big and fluffy, it seemed almost too much for her to sleep on, which probably wouldn’t happen. After all, it was Spike’s and she was just a stray he happened to take in. There was no way they’d be sharing a bed. 

Spike managed to betray her expectations when he forced her to sleep on the bed rather than the crypt floor citing her injuries. He’d said that there was no way he was letting an injured teen sleep on the floor or the sofa. 

She was also quite surprised when he slipped under the covers without a shirt on but she said nothing of it, Eli was okay like that. She was even more okay when he allowed her to spoon him, her being the big spoon cradling him with lead-like limbs. 

For once she wasn’t afraid of tomorrow. She wasn’t afraid of secrets or pain. As long as she was able to hold someone like this, Spike like this, she was fine. Because it had been so very long and she finally remembered the warmth of her youth. She remembered that scared little girl who was given all the love she could ever want. That girl had lost that love just as she had always feared… but she might have found something even better. And it all started from a park bench. 

Spike soaked in the sobs of his new flatmate and wondered if he could make this girl’s life better. It’s all he hoped for as he drifted off with heat radiating against his skin. He really did...


	3. It's bring your BFF to work day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spike takes Eli to work and instantly regrets it.

She sighed against the rain. “We really had to come out when it’s raining like Poseidon never went out of style. Why did we, again?” She knew Spike was exasperated with her as he would be all day or until he could escape the crypt without smelling like sewage. “For the last time! We are going to kick some demons to the curb since I was asked to. You, however, are going to trail behind and out of sight. We’re not having a repeat of the Fyarl incident.” 

“Hey, Gronch likes me just fine. It’s not his fault his family wanted to tear me apart.” He spun on his heel and shoved his face near. “They thought you’d slept with him because you let him enter the crypt. That, Is why you’re not allowed to stay home anymore. End of story.” He retreated and kept on the sidewalk. 

“Speaking of, when are you introducing me to your friends?”

“You’re my only friend, love. They’re just some blokes that pay me for my services.” She hung onto his arm. “Awwww you’re so sweet. I love you too, Spikey.” He rolled his eyes at her antics. 

“Here’s the entrance. Remember, these demons spit acid at you like no tomorrow. I think that’s what they get off on, to be honest. Have heard of some really strange videos catered to them.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust and hoped her sweater would make it through this. She’d had to buy three over a month-long period and they didn’t have that kind of money. She was going to get caught pickpocketing one of these days. 

Spike jumped down with Eli not far behind. They found the demon nest and Spike tore through them with ease. That is, until Eli found out that there was one left the hard way. She’d been out of sight in an upper level looking over the handrail. 

A clawed hand spun her round and before she could scream the ugly mass spit into her face, into her eyes. And then she couldn’t scream because it hurt so much. It shook her and then she smacked into a grimy wall as it let her go.

Suddenly she was caught before she could hit the metal scaffolding and held by Spike. “What did he do to you? What did he do?” She brought her hands to hover over her eyes and then she was hauled up and he was running with her in his arms. 

She sunk into the DeSoto's cottony passenger seat as Spike drove like a maniac, trying to assuage her panic and distract herself from the pain that made her teeth ache. “Where are we going?” She could only imagine his irritation, but technically she had done all he’d asked of her. Except for the part where she got acid spit in her eyeholes. 

“To the wankers you asked about earlier.” She nodded numbly, her head was starting to hurt. Honestly, she could barely process who “the wankers” were. 

He hit the breaks and she almost lurched through the windshield but was stopped by Spike’s arm firmly caging her in. He opened her door and led her up a set of stairs before knocking harshly on a squeaky door. 

Spike, what are you doing here at this time of night?” He dragged her in front of him. “Who is this?” The voice sounded accusing, making Eli bristle. Spike didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. “This is Eli, she got hit by Spayer demon acid, In the eyes. Help her.” There was a pause after his haughty askance. “Please...” Spike really was an awkward person, too bad he was, as he described it, the butt of the joke.

She was led and sat on a too soft couch with all the grace of a walrus. “While I’m working on the antidote could you shed some light on the situation. Starting from who she is.” Eli really wanted to punch this guy, or whoever the voice belonged to. She liked to think it was her simmering rage that distracted her enough to allow her to speak. 

“You do realize she can hear, yes? She can also speak, for your information.” Spike chuckled.

“Ah, yes.” 

“My name is Eli Gardener, Spike took me in after a little heart to heart.”

“Do your parents know you’re out like this?” She didn't have to ask what "this" was.

“What part of ‘took me in’ is confusing? My parents haven’t seen me in months for good reason.” The voice gasped. 

“Spike, did you kidnap this girl?” 

“No! Bloody hell, man. I invited her to my crypt ‘cause of how banged up she was and she decided to stay. That’s it, right Eli?”

“Yeah, got the scar on my forehead from them.” 

Something sweet-smelling was placed over her face. “Now I’m hungry.” 

“Spike, get some digestives from the cupboard. There’s also some beef blood in the fridge as well although it’s not all too fresh.” Spike groaned in disgust but she still heard his fading footsteps. 

“Thanks for fixing my eyes and all but do you think you could start being nicer to my best friend? Please and thank you.” She probably sounded bitchy but she literally couldn’t care She’d just had her eyes burned out of her damn skull and her head was absolutely throbbing, she was oh so done with everything. 

“Excuse you, Eli. I have been nothing but cordial with Spike.” She laughed and it sounded annoying even to her own ears. 

“You’ve got this hatred for him. Even I can tell and I’ve only just met you. The only reason he went into your kitchen is that he knows I’m actually hungry otherwise he’d have told you to suck it because that’s how Spike is.”

“It doesn’t matter how I treat him, he’s a demon no matter how human-like he may seem. That’s only the face of the body he’s taken over.”

“He may not be human but demons have emotions too if you can believe that. I have a fyarl demon and a Haggard demon as friends, I should know.” She sniffed and past the smell of what was on her face was the smell of warm and congealing blood. 

“Spike, stop hiding and come out.” His steps were uncertain but steady. “Could you feed me? I can’t really see, y’know.” He hummed before pressing a cookie against her mouth to which she chewed it gingerly, being mindful of the goo coating her since she didn’t want to know what that tasted like or if it would kill her. She’d heard too many witchy horror stories for a lifetime from Gronch and she wouldn’t start on what Cecily told her about her cousins. Cecily’s stories actually managed to be worse than cannibals eating their offspring. It was terrifying 

She heard the other man leave. “Spike?” 

“Yes, love?”

“Who is that guy and why is he such a jerk to you?” She could imagine Spike’s flitting eyes and clenched knuckles as he grew nervous. 

“See, I’ve killed a bunch of those slayers I’ve talked to you about and these slayers have a council of minders called “watchers”. Well, that guy as you said, is Giles. He’s the watcher of Buffy the vampire slayer, my ex.” Eli winced, a slayer for a girlfriend. Those bruises on his face all those months ago made sense now. 

“Come on, lay down on my lap. It must be getting close to sunrise and you fought with half a dozen demons not too long ago.” He disappeared from her side and she received no more cookies, that she didn’t mind. 

He reappeared at her side and a head nestled into her sweatpant-clad thighs facing toward her stomach. She ran a hand through his curly hair, it had gotten long, she preferred it like that. She was the one who did his hair at the moment and had given up on bleaching it since it wasn’t too flattering. It was a soft brown at the roots and white as a ghost at the ends. She could see clearly, his hair framing his face and all his stark features in her mind’s eye. 

Footsteps came toward the room as a knock resounded on the door. There was a pause before her seat but it was only slight. The door creaked open, it probably had been knocked loose one too many times. 

“Willow, come in. Spike’s here with a guest.” This girl Willow’s footsteps were quiet and hesitant. 

“As scared as a mouse. Calm down, no one’s going to bite.” 

“I was expecting something…”

“You were expecting a demon. No, you got something worse, a blinded teenager with a half-blonde sleeping on her lap.” There was a nervous giggle. 

“You sound like you’d be right up my alley, Willow. Wanna hang with me and my buddies sometime?” The other girl was beginning to say something before Giles said something. “Her friends are demons.” Willow made this weird squealing sound of terror. 

“Gronch and Cecily aren’t that bad. They just like different things. Cecily can make the cutest things out of bones, she’s really nice, loves hot chocolate to a disturbing degree. And Gronch helps with her projects and does construction work for a living.” She got the impression that her words were ignored. Instead of responses, she got the goo scraped off her face. 

Her eyes fluttered open receiving an intake of breath. She smirked at the redhead and middle-aged man before her. “What? Never met someone with purple eyes?” They shook their heads and she tapped on the side of Spike’s face. “Wakey wakey Willy.” 

In his fogginess, he batted at her hand. “Stop with the Willy shite. You do this every single time.” He sat up with his hair stuck against his scalp. “Come on, you love it.” She unsteadily grappled onto his shoulder as he stood up, head still at bursting. 

“One of these days I’m kicking you out.” She pecked him on the cheek. “That’s a lie.” 

“You’re going to be the reason I dust, I swear.” She took off her sweater and placed it over Spike’s head.

“I’ll just have to collect all your pieces and put you back together then.” They left out the front door leaving a pair of shocked wixen. 

“Do you think?”

“I do think.”

“Gotta admit they’re cute together.” Giles just shook his head at her and walked to the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you find any errors please just comment, it's chill. I promise I won't bite off your head or anything like that.


	4. Casual Christmases

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a merry Christmas for Spike and Eli.

Eli was lazing on the bed and Spike was sitting upside down on the chaise lounge. “Did you get me anything for Christmas?” Surprisingly Spike was the one who asked. “Maaaaaybe. I filched something you might like.” 

“I just wanted to check because… I didn’t get you anything.... Are you mad?” She shook her head at him. “I’m happy that I was able to get you something. And that you won’t smash it or something like…. before.” Spike gracefully uprighted himself and sat next to her. “Do you want to give them to me now?” She nodded even though she knew he was just looking to keep her mind off of her previous Christmases. 

She struggled off the bed before approaching the dresser that they’d gotten off the curb. She popped off the false bottom and retrieved the green bundle she held so preciously. “Don’t be disappointed.” She handed it over carefully. 

First, he set it on the bed before unrolling it to reveal a ring, a book, and a bag of fresh blood. “What is this?” He was genuinely confused as he looked at the eccentric array. “Well, that is a bag of my blood, a french poetry book, and the gem of Amara.” A small strangled garble emanated from his throat. 

“Oh, and a hand-knit sweater because you would look magnificent in Slytherin colors.” He turned to her then with fear reflected in his irises. He held up the ring. “Do you know what this is?” She nodded and felt like she’d get whiplash as Spike pressed a kiss to her mouth. 

“And you got me blood which might as well be chocolates.” He hugged her for the first time ever. It was a euphoric experience to say the least, almost as euphoric as her first shared kiss with him a moment earlier. “There is one thing you could give me for Christmas.” He retreated enough to see the look on her face. His eyes narrowed at her, laced with a different type of concern. “No, Eli.”

“Come on, Spike. I’ve been legal for a good long while and I really like you. Do you not like me?” She pouted at him and she could’ve sworn he was close to breaking. She crawled to straddle his firm thighs. “That- Oh, who am I kidding?” He rubbed at his eyes with boney fingers, like a pianist. 

“I do like you, so much it scares me.” She trailed her knuckles down the softness of his cheek. His eyes glistened in the candlelight.

“I’m not Buffy. I’m only Eli. And I don’t usually like people enough to try and sleep with them let alone use them like she did.” An arm pressed her closer until her face was barely two inches away. “Merry Christmas, Eli.”

She closed the gap. “Merry Chrysler Spike.” He threw her off as she giggled.

“I’m done with you, filthy muggle.” Then they were both laughing as he pressed her to the mattress and gave her their second kiss together.

“What would I do without you?”

“Dust?”

“Sounds right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do have a smutty continuation of this chapter but I'm crap when it comes to that sooooo... Meh. BTW they "canonically" haven't gone all the way.


End file.
